St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-11-12

There is not an enthusiastic ring in it
which marked the utterances, of the
others. 1t is not the voice of a judge
delivering a decision. A scarcely de-
Unable pause between each word,
"Shall be allowed to speak. Oh, men
and women of dear America?" The
sheriff shifts his position little; he is
several feet away from the speaker, but
the speaker must have seen the move
ment through the folds of the cap.
There is rising infection i'll his voice,
not so much of pleading as of demand,
LET me speak, Sheriff MatS0n." is
what he says. Let the voice Of the
people be heard''-d0wn went the drop.
The last words of Parsons had died
upon his lips. Four bodies swung in
empty air and the Haymarket massacre
was avenged.
The Drop Fell
at 1855. From the first step of Spies
upon the scaffold until the cutting of
the rope precisely six minutes and three
seconds had elapsed. For moment
after the drop had fallen not soul
stirred. A low murmur like pent up
sigh of relief went through the corridor.
Then, as if moved by one common i'm
pulse every man rose to his feet and
every eye was riveted upon the body of
Spies. The arch anarchist was dying
hard. His legs and arms moved con-
yulsively with extraordinary rapidity.
1t was as though he were alive and
struggling to free himself from the
cords that bound him. His whole frame
was agitated by a quivering tremor.
Low groanS of horror came from many
lips, and the expression, "He'S dying
hard" was heard on all sides. This
continued for over a minute-an hour it
seemed to be-and then the struggles
grew fainter and fainter until they
finally ceased. The bodies of Engel
and Fischer were motiOnless for mo-
ment after the drop, save for the swing
ing to and fro. Then Fischer'S legs
drew up and down, and there was con-
vulSive movement in his arms. EngefS
struggles were brief. Parsons alone
died as if his heart had been pierced by
bullet. He came down like a log.
There was not twitch-nOt single
contraction of the muscles.
1t Was Wonderful
to note how quickly the excitement
which had filled the Jail all the morning
Gained down. The 200 prisoners con-
fined in the place who had been in fever
all during the tragic event of the day,
regained their usual spirits. They
crack Jokes from cell to cell. and as
they had had nothing to eat since
breakfast they soon began to yell for
soup, soup. The spectators who had
witnessed the hanging walked rapidly
out of the Enclosure, and the weary dep
uties went to dinner, the only ones left
in the Jail Office being the press repre-
Sentatives. At l 80 O'Clock the coffin in
which lay the body of Parsons was car
ried out of the jail and taken to the
home of the widow. Curious police of
ficials walked into the Jail to learn how
the execution had been proceeded with,
and were in turn questioned as TO how
the citizens outside had acted. There
was absolutely no trouble" one and all
replied. Many people displayed auto
graphs of the dead Fischer, which he
had written during the morning. 1t
was estimated that he had made fifty of
them iii all. They all read alike and
were couched in the following words:
ADoLpH FISCHER.
Cook County Jail, Nov. IL, 1887
Considerable interest attaches to the
ObServ atiOns taken by the doctors after
the drop fell.
Following is the Report:
Pulses of Spies, Engel, Fischer and
Parsons after the drop:
First minute-SpieS 119; Parsons GO;
Fischer 62; Engel 90.
Second minute-SpieS 104; Fischer 9S;
Engel 96: Parsons 100. Two and one
halt minutes after the drop-SpieS, half
minute. 81; Fischer "a; Engel IS; Par
sons, heavy reSpirationS and cOnyulsive
pulse, which could not be counted.
Three minutes after drOp-Spies, half
minute, ~; Fischer %; Engel 80; Par
sons, convulsive jerking and tWitching,
and gaSping, convulSive respiration.
| Three and half minutes after drop
Spies, half minute, 26; no report by the
doctors as to the others.
Four minutes after the drOp-SpieS,
half minute, %; Fischer 10; Engel Is;
| Parsons 50; conyulsive.
Four and half minutes after the
drOp-Spies half minute. 20: Fischer,
rate per minute. 43; Engel, per minute,
35; Parsons, no report by doctors.
Five minutes after the drOp-SpleS,
half minute, 10; Fischer 81: Engef 30;
| Parsons, per minute, 112; pulse becom-
| ing Steadier.
| Five and a half minutes after the
| drop-Spies, half minute, 90, very faint !;
| faint: Fischer %; Engel 80 and faint /;
Parsons, convelsive.
Six minutes after drop-Spies, quarter
minute. 16: Fischer, half minute, 81 /;
Engel, 80; Parsons, cOnvulsive.
Immediately after the close of the
sixth minute. DIR. Meyer annOun ced that
| he was unable to feel any pulse in
| Spies wrist.
Six and one-half minutes after drop
| Fischer, half minute, 81; Engel, 80;
| Parsons, convulSive.
Seven minutes after drOp-Fischer,
half minute. 81; Parsons, pulse no
longer perceptible; Engel, not stated.
| Seven and half minutes after drop
Fischer, %; no pulse perceptible in the
| others.
| Seven minutes and 45 seconds after
the condemned dropped Fiseher's pulse
was declared to have ceased. The
hands were visible, and could be seen
to have turned extremely purple. Those
! of Engel and Fischer were darker in
shade than the hands of Spies and Par
sons. Upon the expiration of eleven
| and one-haIf minutes after the drop fell,
| DR.. Meyer announced that Fischer S
| pulse had resumed its action at the rate
| of sixty per minute. The other phySi-
clans felt for the pulse, but none of
| them could discover any, and stated
what appeared to DR.. Meyer pulsation
was simply the .convulsiye motions of
| tension. Many of the spectators
| turned their heads at the fatal instant.
but experienced eyes saw that the body
of Spies
Struggled Fearfully
| at first. Fischer did not move for a
moment or two, and then he hung limp,
but struggled for few moments, dur
| ing which his cowl was disarranged, ex-
posing part of his face, until the body
was turned around by the physician
who Was examining the pulse. Engel's
body made scarcely a motion after il
had fallen. When Parsons body fell it
remained stationary for some moments,
Then the head nodded back and forth,
| while the INNER norton of the body